KCSB celebrates its 50th Anniversary during this weekend’s All-Gaucho Reunion at UCSB. Proceedings will feature numerous activities reuniting dozens of former programmers, who will share their stories, insights, memorabilia, and music with current programmers, student leaders, university staff and administrators, listeners, and others.

An array of multimedia tools – such as radio, audio and video streaming, and online communication – will expand participation in the events, while also developing a more comprehensive history of Santa Barbara’s only community station and the University of California (UC)’s first radio licensee. The festivities culminate a year-long series of radio programs and public events commemorating the station’s “50 Years of People-Powered Radio” and will be one of the largest gatherings of the entire 2012 All Gaucho Reunion, which is organized under the auspices of the UCSB Alumni Association.

Founded during the 1961-62 school year at UC Santa Barbara, student-led KCSB is a standout in the world of non-commercial, free-form radio. KCSB’s alumni outreach efforts, over a year in the making, have included surveys and other mailings, resulting in contacts with noteworthy station alumni, including media personality and TMZ founder Harvey Levin, TV news anchor Edie Lambert, and celebrity sports broadcaster Jim Rome. Expected reunion guests will range from station founders to recent UCSB graduates and other former programmers. KCSB alumni are represented in a number of careers – from broadcasting, journalism, music, filmmaking, digital media, engineering, academia, theater, law, the non-profit sector, politics, and more.

An updated list of RSVPs can be found HERE. Testimonials from former programmers have been collected HERE.

Highlights of the weekend’s scheduled events include:

FRIDAY, APRIL 27TH, 4-9PM

Alumni guests will check-in for the weekend, post their contact info for other attendees, and even tour KCSB’s studios and other facilities (including our new archive of show recordings in the KCSB Media Center).

SATURDAY, APRIL 28TH, 12NOON-830PM

Alumni DJs Live On-Air, 12-5pm: A number of former DJs will return to our main Control Room to program music playlists crafted for just this occasion (alumni unable to attend the reunion can listen live to 91.9 FM or via our webstream).

Interview with Alums, 12-4pm: Current KCSB volunteers/programmers will conduct alumni interviews for archiving and broadcast.

UCSB Campus/Isla Vista History Tour, 1-3pm: UCSB Associated Students and KCSB staff and volunteers will lead historical walking tours of UCSB and Isla Vista and record the ensuing discussion.

Reunion Dinner, 5-830pm: Saturday’s main event will include a 5pm reception, and a 6pm dinner with presentations by KCSB’s leadership and invited guests. At 8pm we’ll present film and video works by station alumni (including The Last Broadcast). The banquet program will be aired live online via video and audio streaming technologies.

SUNDAY, APRIL 29TH, 9AM-12NOON

A continental-breakfast gathering on Sunday will provide one last opportunity for visitors to gather and reminisce at the station and close out the weekend’s activities.

For more information about KCSB’s alumni reunion festivities during All Gaucho Reunion weekend, plus more about our alumni activities, CLICK HERE.